Review

Eau Arpege Mist by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

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Hello Vintage frag Hounds,

Recently I was lucky enough to find this beautiful perfume and bottle on Etsy, it was a complete bargain and I bought a few other things at the same time.

Eau Arpege Mist by Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

Eau Arpege Mist EtsyPhoto Stolen Etsy

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehide, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

The box (shown in picture) looks scuffed and worn in real life and I think the fragrance has kept its fresh colour due to being encased in the refillable case: meaning it has suffered no light damage. Mum had Arpege at one point, I think it may have been a gift, and I remember loving her in it. This is the mist and aged so the scent is slightly different but WOW!!

Тигр на отдыхеPhoto Stolen wPapers.ru

The fizzy, sparkling, slightly unreal growl of Eau Arpege Mist is both lavish, grand and feline. Honeysuckle can take over everything on my skin and it goes very urinous quite often, here is skirts disgusting and is completely in tune with the fruit and citrus, maybe the iris keeps it in check with its cool rooty earthiness? I don’t know but you would never in today’s world of fragrance pick this as made for a daughter’s 30th birthday by her mother, who called in André Fraysse and his helper Paul Vacher back in 1927. Jeannie Lanvin even let her daughter choose the name, Arpege, for arpeggio: from my blog reading I find it was so named because an arpeggio is trickling notes like a cascade of sound rather than chords which is the way Arpege is said to flow. You’ll notice the picture above LANVIN on the box above, legend has it that it’s Jeannie and her daughter preparing for a ball.

If you want to read about the notes do please jump to further reading, parsing this little beauty is beyond me. I want you to know that it feels like I’m a movie star when I wear this beautiful vintage Arpege. The flowers, herbs, spices, woods and grasses all combine to maker an incredible statement, that feels both womanly and iconic. If you ever need a spine stiffener then Arpege will do it for you. Ramrod straight back with a head just floating on your neck and hips that could whip the washing with their sweep, swoosh and sashay. Movie star glamour instantly, even for me!

Arpege Movie star Glamour FoxSaverPhoto Stolen FoxSaver

There is always room for the new but don’t forget to remember the old, it tells us some stories of how we got here and what we’ve lost.

Further reading: Bois De Jasmine and Now Smell This
There is a surprising amount of Vintage Eau Arpege Mist on eBay and Etsy for under $30/60ml
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Eau de Arpege starting at $5/ml
My Perfume Samples has (the 1993 or 2009 reformulation I guess) starting $2/ml to $6/5ml

Do you have Arpege memories? Have you ever sniffed the vintage? Here’s your chance in our

Vintage Eau Arpege Mist

Giveaway lavanyasrecipesPhoto Stolen lavanyasrecipes

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There will be 2 winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant of my own Eau Arpege Mist
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who leaves a comment and follows the blog via RSS, WordPress, Bloglovin or eMail. Please leave how you follow in the comment to be eligible. Yes, you can start following to be entered.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Vintage Eau Arpege Mist GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1GE @LANVINofficial @lanvin_news

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Monday 2nd July 2013 11pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post Tuesday 3rd.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Monday 10th July 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Thanks for wandering through my fragrant thoughts,
See you tomorrow,
Portia xxx

Sun by Pierre Bourdon for Jil Sander 1989

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Hello Fragrant Fairies,

While in Europe this was an impulse buy, it was a good deal and I love the packaging. It’s not something I’ve seen available in Australia which is funny because I think it the perfect Aussie scent.

Sun by Jil Sander 1989

Jil Sander Sun FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, bergamot, cassis, palisander rosewood, fruity notes, African orange blossom
Heart: Iris (orris root), ylang-ylang, heliotrope, carnation, lily of the valley,
Base: Vanilla, tonka, cedar, benzoin, styrax, amber, patchouli, sandalwood, musk

The night after I bought Sun, Jin and I were having dinner with Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) and her adorable husband Michael and I decided in the minus 5-10 Celcius weather that I definitely needed a little Sun. Interestingly it was Michael who said he recognised the fragrance and Birgit was so surprised, it was one of her favourite fragrances when they were first dating. How uncanny is that?

I can understand it being a great love of a fragrance because it’s so fun and easy to wear. While not being a super force power frag it is beautifully blended and noticeable, quite often people will ask what I’m wearing when I am in Sun. Honestly I find it extremely hard to pick out the notes listed in Sun but like the sun it’s warm and I also find it comfortable like an old jumper or jeans that you love and they fit perfectly. That’s how Sun makes me feel. Like the feeling of contentment, you don’t have to push to enjoy it, it just is.

Sun Jil Sander Sun Through Trees hdwallpaperslistPhoto Stolen hdwallpaperslist

I get the green, fruity, citrus opening and the flowers all come rushing in dressed up as a fabulous bouquet with a lean towards white floral and as it warms into amber woodsiness after about 6 hours I know there will still be remnants tomorrow morning that will smell fresh and clean and beautiful. No wonder Sun has been around for so long, every year it gets a couple of flankers too but Sun continues and there are hardly any in the online discount stores.

I think you could definitely wear Sun as a guy or a girl, it would be a super work scent as long as your office isn’t frag-phobic and it even goes beautifully with date night, sensual rather than siren but they’ll get the idea. Sun has stayed on my bureau since we returned from Europe and gets quite a lot of skin time, it’s a spritz and forget frag that I know smells awesome and goes with everything. Tonight I wore it out with friends for dinner at a bar and Trivia and then Bingo at another bar, Sun was a perfect fit.

Sun Jil Sander MeetUpPhoto Stolen MeetUp

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels
Essential Mall has $50/75ml
ThePerfumedCourt is the only place I could find samples and start at $4/ml

Have you ever tried Sun? Or any of its flankers? Did you love it?
Portia xx

The ad is KILLER!!

I’d like to thank the gorgeous Neela Vermiere for telling me to change perfumers name from Bourbon to Bourdon. THANKS!!

Gucci by Gucci EDP by Ilias Ermenidis 2007

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Post by FeralJasmine

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Since the recent death of someone I loved deeply, I find myself preoccupied with white florals. At first this might seem like an obvious extension of the traditional funeral flowers, but I think it goes far deeper than that. Of all the fragrances, white florals are simultaneously the most indolic-animalic and the most transcendent. They remind us that death coexists with astounding beauty. When we approach the country of death, they waft us to the threshold and then anchor us from stepping through. They are hypnotic, narcotic, both mesmerizing and comforting. The purest and the dirtiest of scents, they call out our inner angel and our inner demon.

Orange blossom is perhaps the most dualistic of the white florals, sweet-angelic or earthy-animal or both. Orange blossom is my obsession right now. For days after the memorial service I floated around in Houbigant Orangers et Fleurs, feeling unanchored. The morning that I realized that I was returning to Earth, I sprayed myself with…….

Gucci by Gucci EDP 2007

Gucci by Gucci EDP FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

The Gucci that I refer to here is the original Gucci by Gucci EDP in the heavy square brown bottle with gold cap. This is worth stressing, since there is a lot of other Gucci stuff that I can’t stand and wouldn’t want anyone to think that I was wearing. The most frugal perfumista can afford it, since you can find big 2.5 oz bottles for under $50, and minis or decants for a lot less. There is some astounding twaddle about it online, much of which I think may really be about some other Gucci scent. On Fragrantica the notes are given as guava, Haitian tiare flower, patchouli, honey, and musk, which leads me to wonder if some people know orange blossom when they smell it. Patty of the Perfume Posse featured it in her guide to the best of orange blossom fragrances, and of course she got the notes right:
Orange blossom, heliotrope, orris, vanilla, citrus, musk, cumin, and thyme.
In fact, her opinion is so apt that it’s worth quoting:
“ I think Gucci EDP is one of the sexiest perfumes made. It’s skanky, but not vulgarly trashy. It handles orange blossom in such naughty, naughty ways, it takes my breath away. Gucci tore a piece page from the Caron Narcisse Noir Playbook when they abandoned any pretense of orange blossom being innocent.”

Gucci by Gucci Orange Blossoms KousKousRestaurantPhoto Stolen KousKousRestaurant

On my scent-eating skin and in our parched desert climate, the effect is subtler. Gucci EDP goes on in a happy haze of lovely and naughtily indolic orange blossom. The cumin is there from the beginning, but it is low-key and serves to emphasize the orange blossom and not overpower it. As the open fades, a very subtle hint of thyme combines with the soft musk and cumin to suggest a lovely soft earthy leather. Orange blossoms and soft leathery musk; what a combination! If the Houbigant is celestial orange blossom, this is mortal orange blossom, never far from its very earthbound roots. If I apply it lightly before leaving the house, I can wear it to work and my perfume-averse work buddy will sniff appreciatively rather than wrinkling her nose. If I spray more lavishly, the effect is more “Why, hello there!” and is no longer suitable for work, although lots of fun.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Perfume Posse
Fragrance Shop has $41/50ml tester
My Perfume Samples starts at $2.50/ml up to $7.50/5ml

Gucci by Gucci White Flowers Casket FloristExpressPhoto Stolen FloristExpress

Life is full of events that carry us to places we never wanted to be, and thank goodness for all the things that help us stay grounded, like love, friendship, beauty, truth, memory, as well as good food, wine and perfume.
FeralJasmine XX

Le Maroc Pour Elle By Andy Tauer 2005

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Scented Summer Solstice Salutations!

I spent my summers between 1977 and 1982 at the Free Festivals at Stonehenge and Glastonbury. In the days before it cost to go to the massive festival that is now Glastonbury and the days before wire fences around the Stones. Only the mud was the same. Hawkwind, Gong, Benjamin Zephaniah. We would go for three weeks in a row, sometimes more. On Solstice morning we would watch the Druids performing their rituals, and sit on the stones listening to distant music and waiting for the sun.

It was the Welsh Teepee People who were the first to arrive at the festivals. A community of people who lived year round in teepees. Drop-outs, alternative folk, people looking for another way of life. To me they were beautiful, otherworldly, mystical ……..
What really left a lasting impression on me, was the smell as you were in the area of their encampment.
Patchouli, sandalwood, rose, jasmin, woodsmoke, amber, incense. My love for these notes remain with me until this day.

Stonehenge SacredHomePhoto Stolen SacredHome

No 01 Le Maroc Pour Elle by Andy Tauer 2005

Early in 2012 I received a sample of Le Maroc Pour Elle. I was not prepared for it. I grabbed a couple of squirts as I ran out the door to go shopping. A kaleidoscope of fragrance and memories stunned me. No fragrance had ever made me cry. Until now. I put my nose to my arm, and yes, I did inhale. Glorious. Time traveling. Deep into my past. Unreservedly sumptuous.

Heaven knows how Andy Tauer came up with this; I can only put it down to the fact that he is a chemist! Because I am sure I never saw him in a teepee.

Le Maroc Pour Elle ValCQhttp://www.dayleannclavin.com Photo taken especially for APJ

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarins, lavender
Heart: Moroccan rose, jasmine
Base: Atlas cedar, balm of oriental woods, patchouli, sandalwood

Le Maroc Pour Elle is such an intense experience, that you need to let the notes breathe. Skin to air. It is the ultimate summer scent. I have said it before. Mr. Tauer is an artist. You can´t cover up a painting and the same goes for his creations. Let them out. They develop layer after layer. This isn´t a winter fragrance. I really look forward to warm, sunny days, when this is at it´s best. Use sparingly. It´s very pure. You need to annoint yourself with this.

It is absolutely feminine. Womanly. Erotic. High class hippiedom.

I would guess there is a good bit of magic in there too. If Le Maroc Pour Elle had been around in 1977 it would have been illegal.

RosePicker PhotopediaPhoto Stolen Photpedia

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Perfume Smellin’ Things.
Tauer Perfumes has €83.40/50ml
Lucky Scent has $130/50ml and samples
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Until next time, stay cool.

Bussis
Val CQ xxx

Baghari by Aurelien Guichard for Robert Piguet (1950)2006

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

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Gabriella

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Hello fragrance friends!

My recent posts have featured a classic Robert Piguet fragrance, Fracas, and a perfume that makes me feel like the idealised version of myself, Guerlain’s Chamade.

Today I want to talk about a perfume that encapsulates both of these elements: the sumptuously elegant….

Baghari 2006 Robert Piguet for women

Baghari Robert Piguet FragranticaPhoto stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, neroli
Heart: Bulgarian rose, jasmine, iris, violet
Base: Amber, vanilla, musk, vetiver

Baghari is a rich aldehyde perfume and whilst I have many aldehyde fragrances I adore (Chanel No 22, Divine’s L’Ame Soeur, Lubin’s Nuit de Lonchamp), Baghari is the one that really truly embodies and encapsulates retro glamour to me. It is a perfume that speaks of pearls, ruby red lips, darted stockings, silk peignoirs and nipped in waists. Glamour, elegance, dry martinis and cat’s eyes sunglasses.

Bagari was originally launched in 1950 and developed by perfumeur Fabrice Fabron. It the final fragrance introduced into the Piguet range during the designer’s lifetime. It was then reformulated and re-introduced in 2006 by Aurelien Guichard and it is this version I am reviewing today.

The perfume opens with the sparkle of aldehydes shot through with the crisp green citrus of bergamot. The aldehydes here are soft and twinkling as opposed to the sharper champagne fizz of Chanel No 5 and 22 or Le Labo’s Aldehyde 44.

Baghari Snow Lamp WeHeartItPhoto Stolen WeHeartIt

The effect is one of soft yellow streetlamps on powdery snow; the glimmer of candelight on a crystal glass. The bergamot tempers the sparkle and gives the opening a crisp green quality. Baghari then softens quite considerably with the neroli and the rose lending a rich floral vibe and making the composition smooth, graceful and feline. Baghari here is richer and creamier, and it almost feels edible, like sucking on an orange cream ice cream or a biting into a tangerine fondant chocolate. If the perfume were a fabric, it would be of apricot silk, fluid and comfortable against the skin.

Into the drydown, amber joins the fray, anchoring the powderiness of the aldehydes and the citrus tones of the bergamot and neroli. The silk has been spun into the plushest velvet, cocooning the skin with its soft warmth.

Baghari Cat Cocoon InthralledPhoto Stolen Inthralld

Baghari has the magical quality of completely transforming its wearer. Spritzed on the weekend when feeling ordinary in jeans, I become all cheekbones and grace donning the very best couture silk.

And yet, despite being enamoured for years by Baghari’s charms, I have never actually purchased a bottle, instead surviving on decants and samples. It’s one that I just seem to forget to buy and I’m now vowing to change that.

Baghari elegant Lady WorldBabyContestPhoto Stolen WorldBabyContest

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Smellin Things.
Libertine Parfumerie has $150/50ml (with FREE Australian delivery and they guarantee their stock is real and fresh)
FragranceNet has $75/50ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $3/ml.

Have you ever tried Baghari? What is your favourite aldehyde fragrance? Is there any perfume you adore and have not got around to purchasing a bottle.

With much love until next time!

M x

Tease by Steve DeMercado for Paris Hilton 2010

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Post by Katrina

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My last APJ review was for Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights. In the discussion that followed Azar made the comment “I recently went on a Steve Demercado jag. My favorites are his darker, smokier, boozy scents including Fancy Nights and Queen.” I still don’t have Queen but I have discovered two more Steve DeMercado fragrances in my collection – Paris Hilton Tease and Nicole by Nicole Richie. Today I will be reviewing……

Tease by Paris Hilton 2010

Paris Hilton Tease FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fuji apple, white peach, bergamot
Heart: White flowers (frangipani, jasmine, tuberose)
Base: Amber, blonde wood, hot sand

Paris Hilton has released 16 perfumes since the original Paris Hilton fragrances for women and men debuted in 2005. They are a mixed bag. You never know what you’ll get when trying a new Paris Hilton perfume. Many are the typical sweet and fruity girly celebuscents but there are also a few mature perfumes in the Paris Hilton line and Tease falls into this category. In case you missed it Portia has previously confessed her love for a couple of Paris Hilton perfumes. Check out her reviews of Fairy Dust and Siren.

Paris Hilton sexy blogcrackPhoto Stolen blogcrack

Paris Hilton’s Tease is a beautiful white floral scent that is strong and long lasting. Fragrantica describes it as a chypre-floral-oriental. It has a fresh fruity opening with apple and bergamot but it is not overly sweet. The fruit notes give lightness to the perfume against the heavy white florals, which are there from the start and dominated by tuberose. The tuberose is medium strength – not too strong for me to enjoy. Tease has a light woody base and lasts all day.

Paris Hilton TEASE absinthrillPhoto Stolen absinthrill

Further reading at Now Smell This
FragranceNet has $10/30ml before discount
My Perfume Samples starts from $2/ml to $6/5ml

I really like Tease but my favourite Paris Hilton perfume is still Siren. Is anyone else willing to own up to a favourite Paris Hilton perfume?

For more celebrity perfume news and Paris Hilton perfume reviews please check out my Celebrity Perfume Website (<<<JUMP).

Katrina xx

Spiritus / Land #2 by Miller et Bertaux 2004 (?)

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

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Post by Poodle

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The cottage was a mess when she inherited it. No one had lived there since her grandfather died. Her family thought it was too small, too rustic and that she should sell it. She thought it held a certain charm and now it was hers. It needed a lot of work but she had vision to see past the years of dirt that had accumulated in every crack and crevice. She scrubbed every inch of it until her fingers were raw. She remembered her grandmother used to burn incense to purify the air. She loved the smell of incense sticks but not the smoke so she would tuck them strategically around the house like potpourri. She washed and polished the wood floors. She put fresh new curtains on the windows. Little by little it regained some of its former beauty.

Spiritus/Land #2 gum-tree-cottage TripAdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

She was now finally able to sit back and admire the results of her hard work. The warm spice tea she cradled in her hands comforted her. The smell of the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg brought back memories of when her grandmother used to bake in this very kitchen. It was early fall and still warm enough to keep the windows open. On the breeze she could smell the lavender and geraniums she had planted in the window box. Every now and then she caught a whiff of the late summer roses but they were far from the house so it was only ever a fleeting scent. Sunlight streamed into the kitchen in the late afternoon. She was convinced that as the floorboards warmed under the sunlight she could smell the wood and even after all of her cleaning efforts and bucketfuls of soapy water, a touch of her grandfather’s tobacco still lingered.

 Spiritus/Land #2 by Miller et Bertaux

Spiritus : Land #2 Miller et Bertaux FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Top: bergamot, rosemary, incense
Heart: lavender, rose, geranium, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg
Base: sandalwood, teak wood, patchouli, tobacco

When I got the sample for Spiritus / Land I was expecting something earthy and dirty. It has a dusty quality to it but it’s clean and fresh at the same time. I saw it described as an incense scent but this is not churchy at all. It smells more like the unlit sticks. It’s also a soapy scent. It opens somewhat herbal, fresh, and woody all at the same time and then hits you with ginger and spice. Not like dessert spices, these are spices without the sugar. The spices are prominent throughout its development and the wood notes seem to come and go. Yet for all the spice and woods it is a very clean smelling fragrance because it has a very strong soapy quality to it that persists throughout. It also seems to smell cleaner as it develops instead of getting woodier and dirtier in the base. This isn’t the modern clean of laundry fabric softener. It’s more along the lines of an old fashioned guest soap. If soap isn’t your thing you might want to pass on this one. If you’re looking for a clean scent without citrus or marine accords it might be worth a try. The lack of sweetness in the spice might make it lean more masculine to some. Longevity on the average person is probably pretty good. My scent eating skin got a few hours out of it and at the end my skin had a just out of the shower scent to it. This was the first perfume I’ve tried from this line and while it was not true love on me I imagine it would be wonderful on the right person.

Spiritus:Land #2 Spices ehowPhoto Stolen ehow

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and Now Smell This
Libertine Parfumerie has $165/100ml with FREE postage within Australia
Aedes de Venustas has $145/100ml
Surrender To Chance start at $3/ml

Thanks for reading<
Poodle xx

Dry Wood by Ramon Monegal 2012

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Hello Frag Hags and Friends,

When Ramon Monegal released their fragrances I thought they made a decided tactical blunder: 14 new fragrances all at once was overwhelming and the few reviews they got either had all 14 mashed together with a paragraph each or they zoomed in on the 4 most interesting/outrageous/perfumista-ish of them. I wish, for them and me, that they had released three a year over five years. That way I definitely would have tried more than one of their fragrances already. What has inspired me today? Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels added a large sample in her perfume gift pack and after reading her absolute dismissal of the fragrance I am intrigued.

Dry Wood by Ramon Monegal

Dry Woods Ramon Monegal fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Citron, bay leaf, pepper, moss, sandalwood, cedar, cashmeran, amber, woody notes and satureja

Firstly, I think Dry Wood is a rotten misnomer. Dry Wood is neither specifically Dry or Woodsy, at least not till the very end. Maybe this is why Birgit was so dismissive. Dry Wood opens with a very old fashioned masculine citrus and herbs, the kind of scent reminiscent of something that you can buy very inexpensively at the drug store but smoother, the herbs are green and interesting and there is a very human breath-ish something in there too. The pepper is wet and spicy and I think there is a watery (not water but wetness) feel too, which is why I don’t get the name. Here we have a beautiful spring meadow after rain and we’re driving through it in a new convertible so we also get the torn grass, wildflowers and earth. The sun is shining coolly and as we drive up to the house there is a woodpile all freshly chopped and ready for the fire. As Dry Wood dries down there is a warming by the amber and slight drying towards woodiness but I would have called this Spring Fling or Country Cottage.

Dry Wood Ramon Monegal 1ms.netPhoto Stolen 1ms.net

Personally, I have enjoyed this ride immensely and will use up my sample in a jiffy. It is a reinvention of barbershop fragrance, classy, interesting and absolutely wearable. I could imagine this going on after sport or gym and going back to work having people ask what smells so damn good. Great date frag too. Ladies, don’t be shy here, you will find this beautiful too.

I thought these two short reviews so fabulously different that I wanted to include them both:
BoisDeJasmine: Dry Wood contains a sharp and bracing white sandalwood note beneath a flurry of pine/turpentine “aftershave” notes. This is the most masculine and the least softly focused of the line.  It’s a bit sharp at the edges, but this is a quality I find stimulating.  I easily used up the sample; while I might not wear this with a gown, I found its stereotypical “male” aesthetic pleasing (I like sharp sandalwood).
Olfactoria’sTravels: Dry Wood: This is the only one of the fourteen I absolutely hate. It is a harsh, overly manly, wooden “screecher” of a scent. It smells artificial and frankly, cheap. Well, every line has to have a bummer and for me, this is it. But one out of fourteen is not a bad cut.

slice of dry wood timber natural backgroundPhoto Stolen colourbox

LuckyScent has $185/50ml and samples
Ramon Monegal has 107,44€/50ml (not available to Australia sadly)

Which of the line did you try? I really want one of their gorgeous bottles in my collection so I’m going to have to try them all.

Portia xx

Terre d’Hermes by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermes 2006

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

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Post by Margeaux

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Hi Stinkies! My my how time flies and here we are in June already. As the days got a little cooler, I came to realise that most of my scents are geared towards summer. As I embark further on my fragrant explorations, I’m becoming more adventurous and so I recently purchased a box of samples from My Perfume Samples. A very big box. I can now safely call myself a junkie because that box contained no less than 36 vials of stink. Junkie = Yes!. Problem = No! I’ll be the best smelling boy on the block or I’ll die trying lol

Terre d’Hermes by Hermes 2006

So the first one out of the box in true lucky dip style is Terre d’Hermes by Hermes. Now this is a decant of the EDT, not the parfum, and was created in 2006 by the talented Jean-Claude Ellena.

TerreD'Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists the following featured accords:
Top: Orange, Grapefruit
Heart: Pepper, Pelargonium
Base: Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cedar

Looking at the ingredients above, this should be an absolute slam-dunk of a fragrance for me. I love woods, pepper, patchouli and vetiver and can’t wait to give this a go. Doing these reviews I’m practically bathing in the smell so that it invades the space and demands my attention. I can get a little distracted so I’ve found that this is the best way for me.

Spritz, spritz, spritz….. wait for the alcohol to go and then inhale. Mmmm, now that is delicious – full of the citrus fruits that smell clean and sweet but not so sweet as to be sickly. Terre d’Hermes is refreshing, delicious sweetness. I’m not usually a huge fan of orange in particular, or perhaps those fragrances from before that include it just weren’t well made. But here, orange and grapefruit work so well.

Terre d'Hermes woodland wikinutPhoto Stolen wikinut

My nose is still quite naïve and is slowly starting to work properly again after smoking for over 20 years, and these reviews force me to look closer at the ingredients. I had no idea about Pelargonium but read that it’s a type of geranium and commonly used in masculine fragrances to provide a flowery note. Now that I know this, it’s easy to spot it as the middle ingredients lift the curtain on the second act. The pepper doesn’t run wild and to my nose, it’s the pelargonium that does most of the heavy lifting here.

As we hit the final act of this Hermes production, I’m overwhelmed by just how good Terre d’Hermes is. These last notes swirl together like best friends, in a classy joyous embrace that is at once astounding and yet comfortable too. It’s not overtly masculine (one reviewer described this scent as what a lumberjack would likely wear!), and in fact I could see this easily being worn by women that love the notes offered.

Terre d'Hermes Desert wallpaper-sourcePhoto Stolen wallpaper-source

Sillage is fantastic, and many hours later I find that although I can easily smell the Terre d’Hermes that I sprayed onto the back of my hand hours earlier, while I type and as I pause for the next word, I can’t help but draw my hand to my nose for a deeper, full sniff. This is divine and what truly great fragrance should be like.

Further reading: Portia on AustralianPerfumeJunkies and BoisDeJasmin
My Perfume Samples has Terre d’Hermes from $2.50/ml to $7.50/5ml
FrangranceNet offers a 50ml from $67

See you next month.
M xx

Fleurs de Gardenia by Creed: Sydney Launch Party + Review

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The Launch

At 9am Wednesday 29th May media, industry, some very beautiful people and little old me (courtesy of Portia Turbo – thanks Portia!!!) gathered at Harrolds in the Sydney CBD for the Australian launch of the latest Creed offering to hit our shores – Fleurs de Gardenia.

FdG TableFleurs de Gardenia Table

The drinks and canapés were in abundance, but given the time of day the champagne was neglected in favour of juice and coffee coffee coffee!

Fleurs de Gardenia Launch Mary & NickMary & Nick

The event was hosted by Harrolds and Agence de Parfum and kicked off with Nick Smart (AdP) and Mary Poulakis (Harrolds) sharing their thoughts on Creed, Fleurs de Gardenia and the niche fragrance industry more broadly.

Michael Edwards 1Michael Edwards

Guest speaker Michael Edwards (author Fragrances of the World) then talked to us about Creed.
He talked about the brand history, its dedication to quality ingredients and also about the Fleurs de Gardenia fragrance itself. Interestingly, he also highlighted the importance of maceration and maturation in Creeds manufacturing process. Certainly not something I’d heard of before.
Post the formalities I took the opportunity to chat to Michael briefly about Creed. He was lovely to chat with and patiently answered my many geeky questions about Creed fragrances.
I also got to meet and chat to the lovely Catherine du Peloux Menage (Scent of Choice) and Clayton Ilolahia (What Men Should Smell Like). Naturally we talked fragrances and had lots of fun doing so.

FdGFleurs de Gardenia

To top it all off Nick handed us our very own bottle of Fleurs de Gardenia – Nick you are amazing and thank you so very much!
It was an excellent and very enjoyable morning.

Fleurs de Gardenia Review

So, Fleurs de Gardenia in its pretty purple accented bottle:

Fleurs de Gardenia FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink berries, blackcurrant, galbanum.
Heart: Gardenia, rose, lavender, Lily of the Valley, pink jasmine.
Base: Soft musk, Pink Patchouli, Virginia cedar.

It opens with green, fresh, floral and light/transparent. The main floral notes seem to be rose and lily accented by jasmine.
The jasmine starts to become a little stronger as the fragrance dries and you can start to perceive the lavender and something slightly mentholated and fresh.
The early stages really do suggest some extremely subtle herb and spice work going on. These combine with the headier aspects of the floral notes and lavender to provide a freshness that’s almost like old school aftershave (although not particularly masculine).
The next transition is from these floral and fresh notes into a fresh laundered smell. Imagine fresh clean sheets with a fresh breeze flowing through them. A lovely floral fabric conditioner has been used plus you have some lovely fresh cut flowers in vases nearby.
From here the musks and slightly more personal aspects of the floral notes come alive. The accord is simultaneously clean and dirty. It reminds me of the smell of stockings that have been worn, but are not dirty. It’s feminine, clean, floral and yet personal. Frankly I’m glad to smell a fragrance that smells worn and human yet still pretty and playful.
I enjoy wearing Fleurs de Gardenia but it is not a day long perfume. I get around 4 hours before it starts to become quiet and it’s all but the faintest skin scent by hour 6. Be sure to carry some with you so you can reapply.
The more I wear this fragrance the more I enjoy it. It’s definitely worth checking out if you love florals but can’t stand them being too heavy or loud.

Neroli in Budapest has 147€/75ml
Libertine Parfumerie in Australia has $279/75ml delivered in Australia
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/.5ml

Thanks,
Michael